The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

The sun is setting on the Western world. Slowly but surely, the direction in which the world spins has reversed: where for the last five centuries the globe turned westward on its axis, it now turns to the east.... For centuries, fame and fortune were to be found in the West - in the New World of the Americas. Today it is the East that calls out to those in search of adventure and riches. The region stretching from Eastern Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia, deep into China and India, is taking center stage.

The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Pepys - After the Fire: BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation

Kris Marshall (My Family) stars in this BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of the famous diarist's account of the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. Following on from the acclaimed radio dramatisation of Pepys' complete diaries, this further instalment of his chronicles focuses on events following the cataclysmic inferno that destroyed much of the capital 400 years ago. When the Great Fire of 1666 was finally extinguished, little remained of London but smouldering rubble.

Nigel says:"Easy to dip in/out as 15 minutes episodes"

Publisher's Summary

The second volume of the classic diaries, read by Kenneth Branagh.

In this second part of the famous diary specially adapted for audio, Pepys gives us vivid eye-witness accounts of two famous events: the Plague and the Great Fire of London. Not only do we learn how these two events affected the people of London but also how Pepys and his family were affected, along with his usual minute observations of seventeenth century London life.

In part 2 Pepys moves into even higher stratas of the establishment, lusts after Lady Castlemaine and witnesses the great plague as it hits London. His philanders continue unabated and his satisfaction with his growing wealth is unalloyed. Oh, and he confides that he gets a terrible crick in his neck maintaining the pose for the picture on this cover. Kenneth Branagh is a wonderful narrator.